So I've done a couple commutes this year (~11 mi each way) on a new-to-me bike. So far everything has been pretty good, with the exception of some cramping in my left palm. The right one feels finewith no other pain. I figure that something needs to be adjusted, but since it's only happening to one hand, I'm at a bit of a loss on where to start other than trial and error.

Just as a bit of history, I'm right handed and I've not had any injuries to that hand/wrist. I do work in IT so could be the start of some carpal tunnel but who knows.

Bike is a 25" '84 Cannondale ST500 Touring, I'm 6'7

Any ideas on where to start? I appreciate any ideas Thanks!

Just a thought here but are you holding on tighter over on the left side for some reason?

Don't choke your handle bars.

Carpel tunnel is more in the wrists with tingling in your palm and fingers (I've got the beginnings of that...). It could also be a fit(ness) problem that has arisen as a result, which will go away as you ride more.

Is it actually cramping or does it get numb or just hurts without actual cramps?

Doesn't get numb, althought it's possible that it's just hurting. It's the area just below where the thumb connects to the palm. After my ride if I do a deep tissue rub for a min, it feels better. Also this happens when I'm in the hoods, so I usually move my hands to other various positions during the ride.

The pain isn't too bad, not enough to make me stop in my 10 mi commute to work, but definately enough to where I wouldn't want to have it persist through an all-day ride.

OK, because left hand numbness can mean heart problems. What you describe is quite common and most likely caused by pressure on the palm or twisting of muscles. You have drop bars, right? You can try raising the stem to offload some weight off of your hands or add gel padding under your bar tape. Don't invest in gloves too much, it's much better to address this at the bars.

It was also one of the top reasons I couldn't use drop bars, I don't get that kind of pain with flat bars and Ergon grips or touring bars, but I'm assuming you would rather not change your bars so work on taking off some pressure off you palms.

And some exercise might help too, but if this is 100% pressure issue then exercise may not help that much.

And speaking of gloves: some gloves can do more harm than good if the gel pads are small or the gel bunches up in small bulges, that can actually create pressure in these spots. So it's better to have nicely padded handlebars and unpadded gloves so the pressure get distributed evenly. So check your gloves too if they have small gel pads in the area that hurts.

I've got numbness in the left hand after similar ride lengths. I use a nearly flat bard (~5 Deg) and Ergon grips. I am left-handed and also in IT...so lots of mouse use from the left hand during work day. Numbness seems to be in a few fingers, never all or whole hand. Appears 20-30 min in to the ride from work. Dissapates if I lift thumb from under the bar to the top....but that doesn't feel secure over bumps etc.

Had a professional bike fit session and they tried raising the handle bars to their max and lowered the seat 1/2 inch. Seemed to help a bit, but not completely. before I could make more changes to setup the bike was stolen so I'm starting over with a new ride...getting another fit this weekend.

Interestingly, I hear opposite advice from bike techs vs physio therapists that do fits. The bike guys seem to focus on seating position as the main issue while physio guys spend lots of time on the bar adjustments.

Is it only in the hoods? If you ride the drops or the tops all day, it doesn't happen...?

It's both It's how your body interfaces with the bike and that means both: your overall body position for proper weight distribution and the position of your hands on the bars for proper, relaxed grip and shock/pressure absorbtion.

Yeah, that was my problem with drop bars too. I also use Ergon grips now on flat bars. LOL, I'm in IT too, but I'm right handed. The pain with drop bars was in both palms though.

One point I notice is that my left thumb seems to be nearly at full separation point from the hand when on the handlebar...I can't move it very far aft (back) from the bar...my right thumb seems to have more travel. I know hands/wrists are not perfectly symmetrical so differences must be having some effect here. I do wonder if the numbness is circulation related or nerve impingement.

Hey, you and I have the same problem. I would always get pain, discomfort, tightness, etc. in my left hand (sometimes both hands) and would noticed that when I was holding stuff I would feel "shaky" and tense, etc. and it honestly felt weird. The only cure I've found is different handlebars. For some reason, I am more comfortable on a flat mountain bar with a width of about 42cm and bar ends. Moustache bars are the ones that caused my problem initially.

For drop bars, I found that using the "piano" hand position with the hood in between my index finger and middle finger with palms down did the trick. If you have STI your index finger will rest of the shift cable exit if this makes sense...?

Anyway - good luck to you. Hand pain sucks!

Numbness can be both indeed: poor circulation or pressure on a nerve. There are differently shaped drop bars too that put the hoods at slight angle, perhaps that plus some extra padding might help.

So I'm beginning to suspect that "this happens when I'm in the hoods" is not referring to riding in some inner-city places ;-)

I guess I must be a newbi...struggling with the "hood" and "STI".

I'll try the piano and dropped positions on my ride home today. I was wearing gloves this morning. More for the cold but I will definitely check them for the gel patches before I ride out. Thanks for all the great suggestions and information everyone. I'll let you know how it progresses.

I know this will sound funny, but quite possibly your arms are not the same length. My wife had a very similar symptom and she got measured and found out her left arm is almost 1/2" shorter than her right.

So . . . I moved her left brake/shift lever up on the bars (these are drop bars) 1/2" and that simple adjustment totally fixed the problem (for her). YMMV of course, but it's something to consider.

Rick / OCRR

I had trouble with hand numbness/pain when I got into road bikes as well. Tried a couple different gloves, which didn't seem to help -- I believe because the sensory feedback loop that should have reminded me to periodically move my hands was broken. (It didn't help that I was operating both of my downtube shifters and the water bottle with the right hand, so I never had a reason to move my left hand.) I ended up fiddling with my bar position and adding gel pads under the wrap, and now I prefer riding gloveless since the numbness/pain is gone.

Seriously or you're joking? Sorry, not quite sure STI levers are the type of integrated road road levers that have brake and lever and shifter in one mechanism, often called brifters:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sti_shifters

Hood is the soft plastic/rubbery hood over the top of the road levers. So "on the hoods" means your palms resting on those hoods, as opposed to "on the drops" or "on the tops" of the bar. That's the position usually required to operate the shifters.

padded bars/unpadded gloves

correct handlebar width

possibly, arms of slightly different length

core strengh

Most people look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them to drop the gloves or wear unpadded ones and get good grips or extra gel tape instead. On my long rides I use a touring handlebar with two layers of gel-backed tape. It makes the bars very thick but they're sooooo comfy and I don't use gloves with them at all, except when it's cold and then I wear unpadded gloves.

I had numbness in my right hand. When I had a bike fit they ended up recommending narrower handlebars which has solved the problem. I'd recommend ponying up the money for a bike fitting.

My gloves are not padded however as I was riding home today I noticed that the padding on my handlebars is pretty much non-existent so I will look into some touring/gel setups. I also think my handle bars are too narrow, I was noticing that my wrists were a little too bent and when I moved them out to the extreme edges of the hoods it felt better.

The idea of one arm longer than the other sounds interesting, I'll measure just in case. The idea that the right hand doesn't cramp because it's shifting etc also makes sense.

I did try the 'piano' grips which helped a bit but more I think because I was moving my hands around.

Make sure your handlebars are straight while you're at it. Could be that you're holding them crooked because they're a little off...

I believe the general rule is that the bars should be as wide as your shoulders for max comfort. But definitely look at re-wrapping your bars. Nashbar makes gel strips that go under the bar tape in the common spots, then use some quality gel-backed tape (Salsa makes nice one) and I'm sure you will see a difference.

I found a photo of the Nashbar gel strips in action. The backside is flat and has adhesive on it and the top is rounded. Others make such strips/pads as well (Cinelli) but Nashbar's is the least expensive and it's high quality too. They can be cut to shorter lengths if needed.



Then wrap you bars with the bar tape. The bars won't be as round as normally and you'll use up a bit more tape to wrap the same length with the gel pads underneath.

Thanks...it was a serious question...since I only ride flat bar setups...have not used drop bars since the pre-teen years (which is 1970's in my case!).

The reason I ask whether this is happening when you're not riding in the hoods, is that you may have brake hoods that don't agree with your hands. The ergonomics change quite a bit between different shifters, and some of them can be horribly uncomfortable.

With 20 seconds on Google, I wasn't able to find a better diagram than this. Somebody must have posted a "parts of a road handlebar" graphic somewhere.